Salvation Summaries Romans 5:6-11

1. While We Were Weak (verse
6) 2. While We Were Sinners
(verses 7-8) 3. While We Were
Enemies (verses 9-11)

As most all of you know, here at Rock Valley Bible Church, we are strongly committed to
expositional preaching. That is, preaching sequentially through books of the Bible,
with an aim to bring out the original meaning of the text, and appropriate
application.

The advantages of such an approach are numerous. Perhaps first and foremost is that it
helps us as a congregation to hear the voice of God. In expository preaching, our aim
isn't to preach our ideas or our thoughts. Our aim is the let the Biblical authors
speak, paying attention to their flow of thought, their reasoning, and their arguments.
We pay attention to their points of emphasis, and pay attention to their applications.
Our aim is to say what the Biblical authors say. And as we do this, we let God speak.
Because, this is how God has spoken.

Another benefit of expository preaching is that it teaches the congregation how to
properly handle the word of God. Because, each week, we dig into the text and seek to
demonstrate how the Scriptures are to be read to to be understood. We seek to model
observations from the text. We seek to model how to interpret the text. We seek to
model how to arrive at proper application, which comes from the text. And over time, we
trust, it will make you better readers of your Bibles.

Another benefit of expository preaching is that it builds a Biblically literate
community. Every week, the goal is to bite off a little piece of the Bible. We take
another little bite next week. Well, week after week, month after month, year after
year. These little bites all add up. And pretty soon, there are entire books of the
Bible that have been carefully studied together. Your Biblical understanding increases
in depth and breadth.

This gives an appetite to do this in on your own or in smaller groups. The result is a
congregation that knows the Bible well.

Another benefit of expository preaching is that our preaching will be balanced. By
that, I mean this: we won't fall back onto our favorite subjects, to the neglect
of others. We won't fall back onto our favorite verses, to the neglect of others.
Because, we are going to work through every verse. The result is that our preaching
will be balanced in Biblical proportions. As John Stott said, "One way to escape
extremes of neglect and overemphasis is to work steadily through books of the Bible or
at least whole chapters, expounding everything, shirking nothing." [1]

Another benefit of expository preaching is that it helps a preacher. For the most part,
I don't have to struggle to come up with some preaching schedule with creative flair to
keep you all interested. I know that I'm going to take the next text next week.
Furthermore, when there are difficult passages with hard-hitting messages, you all know
that it's not me to blame. We are all are dealing with the Lord.

And also, when we are finished preaching through a book of the Bible, nobody learns
more than I do. Such Biblical knowledge can only be a help in shepherding the
church.

For all of the advantages of expository preaching, there are some dangers as well. One
danger is that a pastor may not be gifted to preach verse by verse through books of the
Bible. He may be an extraordinary evangelist. C. H. Spurgeon is a prime example of
this. His gifts were in other areas, and oh, was he gifted!

Another danger is that sermons can easily turn into lectures or Bible study. The
proclamation of preaching may easily be lost in the method. Expository preaching can
become overly intellectual, and miss the heart.

There may be glaring needs of the congregation or the culture that are not addressed.
Ultimately, whatever helps the hearer is most important. There may be congregations or
times when expository preaching isn't helping a congregation. [2]

But, perhaps one of the greatest dangers of expository preaching, is that we can be so
absorbed in the details, that we forget the whole. In other words, we can miss the
forest for the sake of the trees. Particularly, if the pace of preaching is too slow,
you can easily miss the big picture of the Biblical author.

That's one of the reasons why I have constantly tried to keep our theme slide for
Romans in front of you. Romans is about "The Gospel." And you catch Paul's heart for it
in Romans 1:15, when he says, "I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in
Rome." And the application comes rightly to us. "Are you eager to preach the gospel?"
"Are you talking to those without Christ about Jesus?" "Are you encouraging other
believer by reminding them of the gospel: we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus
Christ!"

And regardless of our text, this is the question that Romans requires of us to ask
ourselves. "Are you eager to preach the gospel?"

You say, "What is the gospel?" Well, on our slide we have some key words: Sin,
Salvation, Sanctification, Security, Sovereignty, Service. These words represent the
outline of the book of Romans. And they outline the gospel.

The outline the fact that we are all sinners (Romans 1-3). But God has provided
salvation through the death of his Son (Romans 4-5). Those who believe will live a life
of sanctification (Romans 6-7). Because they are secure in the sovereignty of God
(Romans 8-11). Those who believe will lead a life of service (Romans 12-16).

Now, one of the drawbacks of walking slowly through the book of Romans is that we can
miss this flow. Those in Rome didn't have this danger. Paul wrote it to the church in
Rome. And when it arrived in Rome, it was presumably read by someone to the church. And
they heard about sin and salvation, which leads to sanctification. They heard about
security and sovereignty. They were challenged to live a life of service. They heard
this all within the realm of about an hour, which is about how long it takes to read
this book out loud.

But, here we are, at Rock Valley Bible Church. We have been going at Romans for 6
months. We began in September, took a month break for Christmas as we looked at the
songs in Luke 1 and 2. And this is my 22nd sermon on the book of Romans And we haven't
even covered 2 of the 6 themes of the book of Romans. We looked at sin. We looked at
sin for three months! And now we are in the process of looking at salvation. We have
been at it for a month and a half. And it's going to be a few more weeks until we get
to sanctification.

Now, that's not to say that we have neglected these areas entirely. Because, these
themes are central to the gospel and consistently come up in my messages. In other
words, when working through the sin section of Romans, we didn't just sit there. No,
such a theme calls us to address salvation.

And there have been plenty of times that we have looked forward into other portions of
Romans to help illumine our text. So, we have covered all of these themes, just not
with so much focus. So, we haven't neglected all of these themes.

Nor is it the case that our time in Romans has been unproductive. On the contrary! I
trust that God will bear fruit in our preaching in your lives. I trust that we all
understand the book of Romans better after spending six months in the book. And I trust
that when we finish in a year (or two) from now, you will be able to grasp the
message of Romans far better than you do now. In fact, I would argue that you may well
be in a position to understand the book better than the Romans did on their first
hearing of the book.

Now, why do I say all of this? Why do I talk about expository preaching and its
benefits and its dangers. Because, in our text today, Paul is going to bring together
some of these grand themes of Romans into a few small verses.
He is going to revisit the doctrine of sin. And he's going to bring out the glories of
salvation. He's going to call us to live lives of sanctification.

And he's not only going to do it once. Nor is he going to do it twice. But three times,
Paul will address our sin straight on, followed by the salvation that God has provided
for us in Christ.

This morning our text comes in Romans 5, verses 6-11. My message is entitled,
"Salvation Summaries." Because, this is what Paul does. He summarizes the gospel. Three
times he summarizes the gospel.

And I trust that, after leaving here this morning, the gospel will be clear to you.
Because, Paul lays it all on the line three times.

Let's read our text.

Romans 5:6-11
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a
good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been
justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For
if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we
also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation.

Now, before we dig into the details of this passage, I
want for you to see the structure of these verses. Three times in these verses, Paul
speaks about our condition. He says, "while we were still weak" (verse 6). He says,
"while we were still sinners" (verse 8). He says, "while we were enemies" (verse
10).

Three times in these verses, Paul speaks of the death of Christ. Verse 6 says, "Christ
died for the ungodly." Verse 8 tells us, "Christ died for us." And verse 10, "We were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son."

Each of these verses are a summary of the gospel. When we were weak, Christ died for
us. When we were sinners, Christ died for us. When we were his enemies, Christ died for
us.

This is the gospel, that we are all weak and helpless sinners, hostile to God. But
Jesus, in his grace, came and died for us. And in his death, he solved our problem for
us, when we could not solve it ourselves. We were weak and helpless, but Christ came to
be strong for us. We were sinners and in need of forgiveness, but Christ came to die
for our sins in our place. We were enemies with God, but Christ came to reconcile us to
God, so that we are no longer enemies, but now we are at peace with one another.

This is the gospel. This is what Paul repeats three times. And so, accordingly, my
message this morning will have three points. Each begins with our desperate situation.
Each continues with Christ's death for us. Here's my first point, ...

1. While We Were Weak (verse 6)

Look at verse 6, ...

Romans 5:6
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly.

Paul describes us here as being weak. He isn't talking
about physical strength. He isn't talking about us as little children, who haven't yet
grown up into adulthood, but are weak and can't lift heavy weights. Paul describes us
here as being weak spiritually!

The idea here is that we were so weak that we were helpless. We could not do anything
for ourselves. In fact, this is how the New American Standard translates this
verse.

Romans 5:6
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for
the ungodly

The idea here is that we were "incapable." That is, we
had no ability in and of ourselves. It is as if to say, "For while we were [incapable],
at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." Some people think and say that "God
helps those who help themselves." But this verse would say the contrary. "God helps
those who cannot help themselves." "God helps those who are incapable of helping
themselves."

And this is wonderful news! Because God isn't expecting us to reach some sort of level
of competence before he saves us. He saves us when we are weak. Or, to use a physical
illustration, he saves us when we were on the hospital bed. Be saves us when we were in
ICU--The intensive care unit.

Have you ever noticed that those who are in the ICU really can't do much for
themselves? Many times, they can't even breath for themselves. They need a ventilator.
Many times, they can't even eat or drink for themselves. They receive their nourishment
through their IV's. They are at the mercy of the nurses who care for them. Those who
make their beds and empty their bed pans. And it's not a pretty sight!

But, that's us when it comes to our spiritual state. We are weak and helpless and
totally incapable of saving ourselves. In fact, in many ways, coming to understand your
own incompetence is the key to your salvation. When you see that what God requires of
you is entirely out of your grasp, you have made the first step toward
Christ.

When you read the law and when you come to see your sin and when you acknowledge your
weakness, you are well on the way to coming to Christ. You simply need to embrace what
he has done for you. And verse 6 tells us what he did, ...

Romans 5:6
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly.

Christ died for the ungodly. In the context of verse 6,
surely, the "ungodly" is a synonym for those who are "weak." See, what Jesus did on the
cross was what we, in and of ourselves, were unable to do. That is, we were unable to
obtain righteousness through our efforts.

Look over at Romans 8.

Romans 8:3
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.
By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin
in the flesh,

In and of ourselves, we can never satisfy the demands of
the law. And when we don't meet the demands of the law, we are condemned in our sin.
But Jesus came to do what we could never accomplish through the law. Jesus came to
condemn sin. That is, he put sin away from us. It will never come and accuse us
again.

This is what Paul is talking about in verse 6 of our text.

Romans 5:6
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly.

Christ died in our place. He died for our sin so that our
sin might be condemned. And he did so at the right time. After the Jews had been given
the law; after the Jews had centuries of trying to live it out; after the Jewish nation
was exiled for their disobedience; during the days of the Roman Empire; during the
reign of Pontius Pilate, that's when Christ Jesus came. And he came to redeem
us.

Galatians 4:4-5
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born
of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we
might receive adoption as sons.

And he redeemed us by dying for us. Let's move on to my
second point.

2. While We Were Sinners (verses 7-8)

Romans 5:7-8
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good
person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

From time to time the news will report of heroes who
saved the life of others by putting their own lives on the line.

Like Santiago Portillo, who pulled a driver out of a flipped car that was on fire.
[3] Like seven year old, Selietha Parker, who dove in front
of her mother to use her own body as a human shield to stop the bullets of her mother's
ex-boyfriend who had held them captive. Like 14 year-old Marcos Ugarte who saw flames
in his neighbors house and climbed a ladder to rescue a seven year-old who was on the
second floor. Like 90 year-old John Shear who threw himself in front of a racehorse who
as charging directly toward a 5 year-old girl. Like Ryan Raso, a 35 year-old homeless
man, who wrestled a woman off of a police officer. Like Addissu Anhabo, an auto
mechanic from Dallas, TX, who rescued a woman locked inside a burning car by breaking
the window and pulling her out. Like Henry Ricketts, who dove into a septic tank in
Maricopa, AZ to rescue a 2 year-old who had fallen in and saved her life through all
the disgusting sewage. [4]

These are but a few of the of stories that could be told of those who risked their
lives for the sake of others. That's what Paul is acknowledging here in verse 7. He is
acknowledging that people will sacrifice for others. Though it's not all that
common.

Paul says, ...

Romans 5:7
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though
perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—

But what God did topped all of these rescues. Verse 8,
...

Romans 5:8
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.

When Jesus died upon the cross, he died for sinners. He
died for those who had disobeyed the law of God. He died for those who had willingly
resisted his will.

In the examples that I have mentioned there on the screen, we see mostly strangers
risking their lives at moments of great peril as they acted upon instinct. They all
lived to tell about it.

Let me tell you one more story about a man who didn't live to tell about it. His name
was Arland D. Willaims. Perhaps you have heard of him.

On January 13, 1982, he boarded an Air Florida flight that took off in a blinding
snowstorm. It crashed into the 14th street bridge that crosses the Potomac River near
Washington D. C. After hitting the bridge, the plane plunged into the frozen waters of
the Potomac River. Arland D. Williams happened to be seated in the rear section of the
plane that was partially above the water. When the U. S. Park police helicopter arrived
to commence the rescue efforts, they lowered a line to carry survivors to safety.
Rather than taking the line himself, Arland D. Williams helped others to take the line
first, that they might be rescued. Time after time, the helicopter came back to rescue
a survivor of the crash. Each time, Arland D. Williams refused the rescue line and
helped others with it. After six people were saved from the icy rivers, the helicopter
returned for another rescue. But, by this time, the tail of the plane had plunged
beneath the waters. And Arland D. Williams was never found.

Now, this is a picture of the sacrifice of Jesus. Arland D. Williams died in the place
of others.

Rather than living, he sacrificed his life for the sake of others. He gave his life for
theirs. This was the death of Jesus. Jesus died in our place. He was our substitute.
His death was for our life.

But the scenario isn't quite what Romans 5:8 is talking about. Look there again at the
verse, ...

Romans 5:8
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.

It's not because we were so worthy of being saved. It's
not because we deserved rescue. It's when we didn't deserve it that we were
rescued.

Such is the love of God. Such is our salvation.

Let's move on to my third point, ...

3. While We Were Enemies (verses
9-11)

Romans 5:9-11
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be
saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled
to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be
saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

I trust that you notice the progression in Paul's words.
First, he talks about us as being weak. Then, he talks about us as being sinners.
Thirdly, he talks about us as being enemies.

By the progression, Paul is seeking to show how great our salvation is. It's not that
we were simply weak or passive sinners. It's that we had actively rebelled against
him!

God's wrath and anger were upon us (Romans 1:18). We were at war with God. He was our
enemy. We were trying to take him down.

Let me try in one small way to illustrate what God has done for us in our salvation.
Come back again to Arland D. Williams. Let me re-tell the story, in an imaginary
way.

Imagine that the President of the United States was on the plane that crashed into the
Potomac river. Arland D. Williams would easily have given the life-line to
him.

But, imagine that when Arland D. Williams arrived on that plane, that he was seated in
first-class. He was given all of the luxuries of the flight. But onboard comes a guy,
who was unkempt. This man was wearing shabby clothes and was drunk and obnoxious. As
this man passed through the first class section, he spilled his hot coffee on Mr.
Williams. When he realized what had taken place, rather than confessing that he was
sorry, this man began to accuse Mr. Williams of tripping him intentionally. Soon, this
man was yelling at him, accusing Mr. Williams of being hateful and prejudiced and
irresponsible. Imagine he continued his rage until finally, he was demanding that Mr.
Williams give his seat to him. He said that Arlan should get to the back of the plane
like he deserved. And so, suppose that Arlan D. Williams heads to the back of the plane
without a word of argument.

Now, imagine that the plan crashed and the helicopters were there with the life-line.
And this loud, obnoxious, antagonist is there. And now, imagine that Arlan D. Williams
gave him the lifeline. Allowing this obnoxious, insulting and dreaded person to live
rather than living himself.

Why would he do that? Why would he give the lifeline to this man, who abused him so
clearly? It is only because of an incredible love within him that would do such a
thing. That's a bit like the love of Jesus Christ to rescue sinners.

John Newton said it this way:

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like
me!

I once was lost but now am found; was blind, but now I
see.

Such is the love of Jesus. He died when we were his enemies. But, this imaginary
illustration with Arland Williams still falls short. "Enemies" is war-time terminology.
We are talking military and guns and hostility and death!

So, take the plane again, and imagine Air Florida taking off from Washington D. C.
Imagine that shortly after take-off, several men stand up in the front with guns. They
declare that they are taking over the flight. They break into the cockpit. They order
everyone to the back of the plane.

After all settles down, they begin to call people forward, and proceed to kill
them.

Seeing what's going on, Arland Williams steps up to be next in line to die. As he walks
the aisle to his would-be executioners, the plane takes a nose-dive and crashes into
the icy Potomac River.

Now, we imagine that when rescue crews are there taking people of the airplane, Arland
Williams defers to the hijackers, letting them be rescued first. Then, he notices that
one of them was knocked unconscious. He drags him out and attaches him to the lifeline.
The hijackers are all safe and sound, and Arland Williams perishes in the river.

This made-up version of the story is the real picture of verse 10.

Romans 5:10
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his
life.

See, Jesus died for us while we had our guns pointed at
him. Such a rescue can only bring us to worship. We have done nothing. Christ has done
it all. In the words of the songwriter, "Jesus Thank you; once your enemy, now seated
at your table." [5]

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on
March 26, 2017 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rvbc.cc.